


Intro to Geology

by Icyhot_Alchemist



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: AS A FRIEND, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Finally, Getting Together, I give chrome a fake human name for .5 seconds, M/M, Ryusui is here, Teacher-Student Relationship, because college is just so wild, feel free to hate this, how do you write summaries, kind of technically, like all the characters just live in our world, no stone world AU, probably vrey ooc, sorry - Freeform, that au, the friend we all deserve, they're the same age though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:41:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22523410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icyhot_Alchemist/pseuds/Icyhot_Alchemist
Summary: When Ukyo sees the boy with the dark brown hair enter the classroom, he's excited to have someone else who doesn't seem to be a freshman in the class with him. When the boy goes up to the desk in front of the class and starts setting up the computer instead of taking the seat next to Chrome, there's only one clear, and maybe more logical than it seems at first, explanation...Is that guy supposed to be our teacher?(Wow look a bad summary. It's an Ukrome college AU that absolutely no one in the world asked for!)
Relationships: Chrome/Saionji Ukyou
Comments: 11
Kudos: 83





	Intro to Geology

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> I am, much to the chagrin of many people, still alive and still in possession of a word processor which allows me to write.  
> Sorry to disappoint.  
> I'm not sure what this is. But it.... it sure is something.  
> I don't think i actually mention it but because i spent an ungodly amount of time planning it out only to not say anything about it: they're both 23 in this fic. Through the power of science, magic, college, and caffeine. It works out.  
> Feel free to remind me that this fandom was better place before I joined in the comments below!  
> Enjoy!

Ukyo settled himself in a seat near the front of the classroom and pulled his phone out to distract himself until class actually started. He spent the next 15 minutes scrolling through social media and watching the other students slowly trickle in. He tried to refrain from groaning out loud when he realized it was going to be mostly freshmen in the class.

He didn’t know what he had expected though. He was the one who had put off doing his required core classes and was now being forced to take them as a junior. It didn’t help that he had taken two years off between high school and college, making him two years older than even the people in his grade and 5 years older than the average freshman. 

It didn’t bother him too much. He did have some friends that were in the same boat, quite literally in some cases since they had been on the same submarine as him during his service. But he did think about throwing pens at the freshmen sometimes. 

The door opening caught his attention and he glanced up again, doing a double take at the boy who entered. He was attractive, with his thin frame and spiky dark brown hair and he looked like he was around Ukyo’s age, which gave the blond a little bit of hope of having a friend in the class. The boy surveyed the class quickly, giving Ukyo a polite smile when their eyes met. Ukyo glanced at the empty seat next to him, silently hoping the boy would decide to take it. For comradery reasons. Not because Ukyo wanted to be able to look over and sneak glances at him whenever the class got boring. 

Instead of taking the seat next to Ukyo, however, the boy walked to the front of the room, placing the notebooks he was carrying on the front desk and moving behind the computer. 

_“Is he our teacher?”_ Ukyo thought to himself as he watched the boy fiddle with the computer, occasionally mumbling to himself. Ukyo spent the rest of the time before class trying to discreetly watch the man while pretending to look at his phone, completely ignoring the other students as they entered. Sooner than he expected, the man stepped out from behind the computer and cleared his throat, bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet as he stood in front of the class.

“Hi guys!” He said with a little wave. “I’m Kosuke Romuda, but literally no one except my mom has called me that since middle school so feel free to call me Chrome. Actually, please call me Chrome. I probably won’t respond to my real name, so just… Chrome.” He gave a small, determined nod and took a deep breath. Ukyo tried to hide his smile behind his hand. The man - Chrome, apparently - was adorably awkward, and Ukyo was oddly charmed by it.

“Anyway, I’m a first year grad student in geology here and I’ll be teaching the intro to geology course this semester. Which is very fun and exciting, since I’ve never taught before. But it’s gonna be fine. I promise.” He wrung his hands a bit and chuckled nervously. “Why don’t we go around and introduce ourselves? How about…. Name, grade, why you’re in this class, and one fun fact about yourself?” He asked more than said. “I can go first, I guess, and then we’ll just go around? So like I said, I’m Chrome. I’m a grad student. I’m here because… Well I guess I’m in this class because I have to teach it so maybe that’s a dumb thing to say.” He paused for a second, muttering to himself before focusing back on the class. 

“Oh! I guess I could say why I’m doing geology. I just really like rocks. They’re super neat. And my friend is in the physical science program and got me on the geology track and the rest is history, I guess. Anyway. A fun fact? Oh! I am in charge of the rock collection at the school, and also a primary contributor! Which is a fun little side project.” Ukyo pressed his hand over his mouth harder, nearly unable to hide his ever growing, smitten smile at Chrome’s awkwardness.

“Okay,” the teacher clapped his hands and pointed at a girl sitting in the front row. “Wanna start?” Ukyo tuned out the other students introductions, not overly interested in what they had to say anyway. He instead spent the time absentmindedly doodling in his notebook awaiting his turn and watching their teacher. He was giving each student his full attention as they spoke, listening attentively with an open, interested expression. He couldn’t tell from that far away, but Ukyo suddenly desperately needed to know what color eyes he had. 

Suddenly, those eyes were on him and he realized it was his turn to introduce himself. He returned Chrome’s small smile and cleared his throat before he started speaking. 

“I’m Ukyo. I’m a junior, but I’m still finishing up my core classes which is why I’m here. I guess a fun fact about me would be that I did two years of military service before coming to college?”

“Oh, wow. What did you do?” Their teacher asked excitedly before freezing, his smile quickly slipping away to distress. “Unless that’s not an appropriate question? I don’t know, I’m so sorry. You definitely don’t have to say if you don’t want to?” Ukyo chuckled and held his hands up in a placating gesture. 

“No, it’s fine, I promise,” Ukyo said. “I was a sonar tech on a submarine.” The excitement returned to Chrome’s eyes and Ukyo couldn’t help but think that he looked much better that way. 

“That sounds interesting! You probably know a ton about the ocean.” Ukyo laughed and shrugged.

“It wasn’t that interesting. And I don’t really know that much. That’s more the navigators than me.” Chrome nodded with genuine interest and gave Ukyo a bright smile when he finished talking. 

“Well thank you for sharing, Ukyo,” he pointed to the boy to Ukyo’s left, “and you?”

Ukyo went back to his previous activity of drawing in his notebook, once again tuning out the other students. His mind wandered momentarily back a few years to the submarine, but he quickly pushed the thoughts out of his mind and distracted himself with watching Chrome a little more. He couldn’t help it if his teacher was undoubtedly the most interesting and fun thing to look at in the classroom.

After introductions, Chrome started going over the syllabus and talking a little about what the class would entail, forcing Ukyo to start kind of paying attention while still allowing him to watch Chrome as he stood in front of the class. 

Soon enough, the hour had passed and Chrome was dismissing them. While Ukyo was excited about the prospect of having the rest of the afternoon free, he mourned the fact that he wouldn't get to see Chrome again for almost a week. He placed his notebook and pen in his backpack and stood to leave, chancing one last glance back at his teacher as he was leaving only to find Chrome already looking at him. When their eyes met, Chrome startled a little and gave Ukyo a nervous wave with a small laugh. 

"Bye, Ukyo. See you Tuesday." Ukyo smiled back and gave a wave of his own. 

"See you, Chrome."

-X-X-X-X-X-

"He's just so awkward, it's cute? I don't really get it but it's charming as fuck. I just…." Ukyo trailed off with a groan as he stretched out across the small cafe table he was sharing with his friend. Ryusui just laughed and picked his cup up off the table before it could get knocked over by Ukyo's dramatics.

"You've known him for an hour, man. Have you considered, I don't know, actually holding a conversation with him before taking up our entire evening being lovesick over this guy?" Ukyo popped his chin up on the table and glared at Ryusui. 

"I'm not lovesick. I just think he's cute." Ryusui rolled his eyes and took a sip of his coffee. Ukyo sat up and leaned back in his chair, taking a long drink of tea while still glaring at his friend. 

Ryusui had been on the same submarine as Ukyo, but as a navigator. The two of them had quickly bonded over their similar situations, both having joined the military right after high school, and the 9 months trapped underwater in a pressurised metal tube forced them to grow close extremely quickly. When Ukyo first mentioned wanting to go to school after serving for two years, Ryusui instantly jumped on the idea, suggesting they stick together and try to go to the same university. As much as Ukyo sometimes thought about punching the other man, he did consider them to be good friends and was extremely glad he had ended up coming to the same school. 

"Why don't you just ask him out? It's not like you to be so nervous over something like this," Ryusui stated like it was the simplest thing in the world. 

Right now was one of those times Ukyo thought about punching him. 

"He's my teacher! Do you just not listen when I talk?" Ryusui rolled his eyes in response.

"Of course I was listening. But he's a grad student, not like a full on professor. It's different." He paused for a second. "I think," he added hesitantly. He shrugged and shook his head dismissively. "Whatever. It has to be different. You should just ask him out." Ryusui took a sip of his drink and continued when Ukyo remained silent. "Or, you know, try and get to know him better and see him more than once before you start planning your future together." Ukyo pressed his lips into a thin line and glared at Ryusui over the edge of his cup.

"And how do you propose I get to know him better while I'm sitting in his class?"

"Hey now," Ryusui held his hands up in surrender, "I didn't say I knew _how_ to do it. I'm just throwing out suggestions as to _what_ I think you should do." He hummed thoughtfully for a second before snapping his fingers excitedly, clearly struck with an idea.

"Wait, wait, no, I've got it. You pretend to be struggling with the class, or maybe you don’t have to pretend, I don't know your comfort level with geology," Ukyo stuck his tongue out at his friend for good measure, which Ryusui ignored and pressed on. "And you go to his office hours or hang back after class and ask him about it and then start talking about other stuff and boom you're having a real conversation and getting to know one another and next thing you know you're making out on his desk." Ryusui leaned back in his chair with a smug smile, acting as if he had just solved some sort of major world issue.

"You lost me a bit with the last part," Ukyo responded slowly, "but I have to admit that plan isn't half bad." 

"Not only is it not half bad, it's 0% bad. A perfect plan, if you will." 

"I will not," Ukyo muttered into his cup. Ryusui ignored his sarcastic response in favor of launching into a story about a kid in his international trade class almost coming to blows with their teacher over something or other. Ukyo listened half heartedly, the other half of his mind already preoccupied with trying to figure out the best approach to actually starting a conversation with his teacher.

-X-X-X-X-X-

It wasn't until 4 weeks later that Ukyo got the courage to actually put the plan in action, though. He thought about it every class, imagining staying behind and starting a conversation and getting to know Chrome better. But every time he told himself he would do it, he either chickened out at the last second or there were other students who needed to ask questions as well, probably without an ulterior motive like Ukyo.

The class itself wasn't actually that hard, and it even turned out to be mildly interesting in Ukyo's opinion. Whether it was mildly interesting because of the actual geology or because he enjoyed seeing how excited Chrome got when he went on a tangent about some mineral or another, who could say. 

It was because of Chrome. Ukyo was pretty sure if anyone else had taught the class he would have stopped showing up after day 2.

4 weeks into the semester, Ukyo found the resolve to finally approach Chrome and talk to him after class. When the hour was up and Chrome dismissed them, Ukyo took his time slowly packing up his bag, watching as the other students quickly filed out of the classroom. Once his bag was packed, he stood and walked the short distance between his desk and the front of the room where his teacher was focused on packing up his own materials, seemingly unaware of Ukyo standing before him. He waited for a few seconds, hoping Chrome would notice his presence, but when it became apparent that the other man was too focused on what he was doing to be aware of his surroundings, Ukyo scuffed his shoe against the ground, making a small noise to catch Chrome's attention. Chrome's head snapped up at the noise and he let out a small, surprised squeak, quickly straightening up and giving Ukyo an alarmed look. 

"Ukyo! Sorry! I didn't notice you there. You're too quiet. Or maybe I'm a little out of it. Maybe both. Anyway. What can I do for you?" He finished his nervous rambling with a bright, genuine smile, and any carefully thought out plans of asking about the recent homework flew out if Ukyo's mind when faced with that smile and those wide eyes. Chrome watched him expectantly and Ukyo realized he needed to actually say something instead of just staring dumbly. His brain scrambled desperately to find any string of coherent words he could say without sounding too stupid. 

"So… You like rocks?" Ukyo finally managed to get out. 

So much for not sounding stupid.

Confusion flitted across Chrome's expression for a split second before his excited smile returned. 

"Yeah, I do! It kind of goes with the whole geology student thing," he laughed a little and Ukyo felt a smile tug at the corner of his own mouth. 

"Do you… have a favorite?" Ukyo mentally kicked himself, but decided his dumbassery could be forgiven when Chrome launched into a passionate rant, allowing Ukyo to appreciate the view. 

"I don't think anyone's ever asked me that before, actually. Which is weird. It seems like something someone would have by now. But anyway, huh. I don't really know," he paused to think and Ukyo was content to watch the range of expressions that crossed Chrome's face. 

"I guess bismuth is pretty neat. It has a crazy cool fracture pattern that's all geometric and weird. Also, my roommate's boyfriend calls it the gay rights rock so it holds a special place in my heart," he trailed off with a laugh. 

"Wait, he calls it what now?" Chrome snickered and shook his head a little. 

"The gay rights rock! Synthetic bismuth is iridescent so it's all rainbow-y and it's atomic symbol is 'Bi'. So you know." 

"Next you're going to try and tell me its atomic number is 69." Chrome's smile widened to the point that his eyes were almost pressed shut. 

"If only. But no, 69 is thulium. Which is alright but nothing too wild." His thoughtful expression returned before his eyes suddenly grew wider than Ukyo thought possible. The blond swore he could see them literally sparkling with excitement.

"Wait! I know! Gypsum!" 

"That means something to me." 

"Or well, I guess selenite."

"Right. Because that cleared it up." 

"Well, technically satin spar."

"Oh that's where my problem was. You weren't being technical enough. Now I understand though," Ukyo deadpanned. Chrome laughed.

"Stop, you can't bully me, I'm your teacher," Chrome said through his laughter. Ukyo laughed lightly and prompted Chrome to continue. 

"Why is that one your favorite?" 

"It's not really anything special, but gypsum is used in a lot of things, like drywall and chalk and shit. But satin spar is just really pretty, I think. It's kind of fibrous which is cool for a rock. Plus, it does this really awesome thing with light where it like…." Chrome trailed off, making vague gestures with his hands that really didn't explain anything. 

"Wait!" He exclaimed excitedly, "I can just show you. I have some on my desk in the office." He grabbed his bag off the table and headed toward the door. Ukyo found himself following after the man without even thinking about it. Chrome paused at the door and glanced back at Ukyo over his shoulder with a sheepish look. 

"You don't need to be in another class right now, right? Or haven't realized you deeply regret asking me about rocks in the first place?" Ukyo offered Chrome a reassuring smile and shook his head. 

"No class and no regrets." He gestured towards the door. "Lead the way to the cool rocks." Chrome's smile was back in an instant and he started leading Ukyo down the hall until they reached a door marked 'graduate student office'. Chrome pulled out a key card, unlocking the door and pushing it open in a practiced motion. He held it open with an outstretched arm and gestured for Ukyo to enter before him. Ukyo nodded his thanks and stepped through. The way Chrome was holding the door paired with the narrow doorway meant the Ukyo ended up having to walk very close to Chrome. He felt his heart rate speed up by a fraction of a beat at the close proximity. He quickly glanced at Chrome out of the corner of his eye and thought he saw a little more red on his cheeks than had been there before. He liked to think he wasn't the only one being affected by the closeness. Chrome cleared his throat and pointed to a desk on the far end of the room. 

"That's mine. It's basically where I live now." He quickly made his way over to it and pushed a tall white rock on a small pedestal out onto the center of the desk, grinning up at Ukyo in excitement. "Alright watch this!" 

He turned a small dial on the side of the stand and suddenly the milky white rock turned bright red. Another small click and it turned purple. Another and it was blue. Ukyo had to admit that, for a rock, it was pretty cool. Chrome turned the dial again and the rock returned to it's normal milky color. 

"Neat, right?" Ukyo smiled at the unbridled joy in Chrome's dark brown eyes. 

"Yeah, it's neat," Ukyo responded softly. He opened his mouth to continue, but was cut off by his phone vibrating in his pocket. He gave Chrome an apologetic smile and grabbed his phone out to see a message from Ryusui. He snorted a small laugh as he read it before turning his attention back to Chrome. 

"Sorry, I think I have to go," he said apologetically, holding his phone up for emphasis. "Apparently my friend has a life or death mission he needs a wingman for but our other friend refuses to go with him. So I guess it's my responsibility now." 

"Sounds like an adventure," Chrome laughed. "I wish him the best of luck. You'll have to let me know how it goes next time." Ukyo nodded and headed towards the office door with a wave, hoping that Chrome couldn't see the excitement that felt like it was radiating off his body at the casual mention of 'next time'.

"Bye, Chrome. See you next time."

-X-X-X-X-X-

"So how did you get into geology?" Ukyo asked the next time they met after class, still sitting in the now empty classroom.

"I loved collecting weird rocks as a kid. That's like all I did during my childhood. Then in middle school I made a friend who loved science too. He helped me a lot and kind of pointed me down this path of geology." 

"Seems like a good guy."

"He's pretty great, yeah."

"Where did the name Chrome come from?" Chrome laughed for a minute before actually responding.

"Same friend, actually. He said it one day and it stuck. It's kind of all I've gone by since even though it's a little weird." He shrugged and looked down at the pen he was fiddling with in his hands. A soft smile spread across Ukyo's face. 

"I think it suits you."

-X-X-X-X-X-

Three weeks and four more two hour or longer after class discussions later, Ukyo could confidently say he was smitten with Chrome. He might even go as far as to say he really likes Chrome.

"So have you declared your undying love for your teacher yet?" Ryusui asked in his usual blunt fashion, interrupting the movie they were watching and earning a playful shush from Francois. Ukyo lolled his head back against the arm of the chair he was sitting in to glare at Ryusui upside down, flicking a piece of popcorn towards him with pinpoint accuracy and nailing him right between the eyes. He let out a triumphant whoop, effectively drowning out Ryusui's indignant yelp. Ukyo settled back into a comfortable position and let out a long sigh. 

"I am not in love with him," Ukyo said after a moment, ignoring Ryusui's mumbled 'bullshit' and the sound of Francois hitting their mutual friend with a pillow. "I do like him though. And I feel like we're getting along and have been growing closer the past couple of weeks. But I can't tell if he's just being nice because he's my teacher or if he actually likes me." 

"You could just ask him out," Ryusui supplied unhelpfully. 

"For the last time, I can't just ask him out." He rolled his eyes and shot Francois a pleading look. "Please tell me you have some better ideas?" They shrugged and shook their head.

"Unfortunately I would suggest going with a straightforward approach, but I can see why that wouldn't exactly work here." Ryusui straightened up in his seat and snapped his fingers excitedly. 

"Here we go, I've got it!"

"Please don't," Ukyo grumbled.

"You just have to up the flirting a little and see how he responds."

"What, you want me to use cheesy pick up lines and see if he finds it charming?"

"No. Well I mean you can but that's not what I had in mind. More like, stand a little closer than necessary to him, find an excuse to touch him - not necessarily in a weird way, just like casually - or say something a little suggestive. See what happens." Ryusui shrugged and settled back onto the couch, reaching over to steal the bowl of popcorn from Ukyo as he settled in. The other two sat in silence for a minute, mulling over Ryusui's idea. 

"As loathe as I am to admit that I think Ryusui said something intelligent," Francois said eventually, "that isn't actually a bad idea. Just start with something small and if he seems receptive, it probably means he's into you too." 

Ukyo considered it, thought about the idea of talking to Chrome but standing a little closer than usual. Maybe reaching out and touching Chrome's arm when the teacher made a joke. Maybe sliding his hand down to intertwine their fingers. Maybe using their joined hands to pull Chrome closer and fully close the distance between them. Maybe sliding his other hand up into Chrome's dark brown hair and pulling him in for a kiss. Maybe deepening the kiss and slipping his tongue into Chrome's mouth. Maybe getting to hear a small whine or a moan that Chrome wouldn't be able to hold back. Maybe slowly stepping them back until Chrome's back hit the wall and pressing up against him. Maybe-

"Ukyo stop being horny in my apartment. Only I'm allowed to do that," Ryusui shouted as he slammed a pillow into Ukyo's stomach, tearing him out of his increasingly inappropriate daydream. 

"I'm not being horny," he growled, resituating himself in the chair to clutch the pillow Ryusui had hit him with close to his chest. 

"It's my 6th sense. I can tell when people are having perverse thoughts."

"That seems like the shittiest power in the world," Francois said through their barely constrained laughter. Ryusui nodded sagely and put a hand over his heart. 

"It can be awkward, but it's a cross I'm willing to bear." Ukyo rolled his eyes but smiled anyway.

Maybe there was something to the idea though.

-X-X-X-X-X-

"So what was being a sonar tech like?" Chrome asked casually one afternoon as they were sharing dinner in the graduate student office. Ukyo felt himself freeze for a second before his body relaxed enough for him to respond.

"I got really good at listening to whales scream into the void." Chrome snorted and almost spit out the sip of soda he had just drank.

"That can't be all you did. Weren't you at sea for a good number of months?"

"It's the only thing I did worth mentioning," Ukyo said, voice tight. 

Chrome paused and watched Ukyo, studying his expression. After a minute, he nodded sadly and turned back to his food. 

"I hate whales," Chrome said in a blatant attempt to change the subject. Despite the somewhat clumsiness of the segway, Ukyo appreciated Chrome respecting his boundaries, even without him having to say anything. 

"What did whales ever do to you?" Ukyo asked, his body and mind relaxing as the topic of conversation shifted to something more neutral.

"They're just so big," Chrome mumbled dejectedly as he took another bite of his food. "What business do they have being that big? What are they trying to prove?”

-X-X-X-X-X-

Next Thursday, after class, Ukyo decided it was time for phase two of the plan. Or, more like the new and improved plan. The plan to try and gauge whether Chrome was also interested in him or not.

He wasn't sure how to close the distance between them in a way that didn't make his intentions completely obvious from the beginning, until the perfect opportunity presented itself. 

They were once again in the grad student offices at Chrome’s desk, chatting aimlessly about places they’d travelled to and wanted to travel to. Chrome was reclined in his computer chair with Ukyo half sitting on/half leaning against his desk close by, but not close enough to be awkward. Chrome was talking excitedly about the last research trip he had been on, sitting up and reaching for his laptop to pull up some pictures. Ukyo slid off the desk and stood behind Chrome, genuinely excited to see them. As Chrome pulled up the first photo, Ukyo knew the time was right.

He stepped up to stand behind Chrome’s chair and leaned forward to get a better view. He planted one hand firmly on the desk next to where Chrome’s hand was on top of his mouse. He rested his other arm across the back of Chrome’s desk chair and leaned in closer so his face was next to Chrome’s, not quite touching but close enough that Ukyo could feel the heat radiating off of the other man. 

Or maybe that was just his face heating up at the thought of being so close to Chrome.

Or maybe the warmth was coming from the quickly darkening blush Ukyo saw forming on Chrome’s cheeks out of the corner of his eye. Chrome kept glancing between the computer screen and Ukyo, stuttering over his words as he resumed his story. He shifted in his chair a little, bringing himself fractionaly closer to Ukyo, his shoulder brushing against Ukyo’s chest. 

They stayed like that as Chrome flipped through pictures, pointing out friends and classmates and interesting things he had seen. Ukyo did his best to pay attention, but his brain was having a hard time not thinking about how easy it would be to turn his head and nuzzle into Chrome’s hair or brush his lips across the other’s cheek. Or how easy it would be for Chrome to turn his head and for their lips to meet. 

But Ukyo managed to scrounge up some self control that he didn't know he had and refrained from molesting his teacher and listen to Chrome as he talked, even managing to hold on to enough mental capacity to carry on a conversation. 

When Chrome had run through the photos and Ukyo no longer had an excuse to stay in that position, he moved back to his previous position seated on Chrome's desk. But this time he chose to sit a little closer to Chrome so his foot brushed against Chrome's leg periodically when he swung his legs. 

A simple after class chat once again turned into a conversation that lasted a few hours which turned into ordering food to the office and eating dinner together. Granted, it was fast food eaten while sitting on a desk in the physical sciences building and not a romantic candlelight dinner somewhere, but it certainly felt like a date. 

Later that night when Ukyo was making his way back across campus, he realized that Chrome hadn't shied away from Ukyo's small advance. 

Ukyo smiled to himself as he walked, feeling a little more optimistic about his chances with Chrome.

-X-X-X-X-X-

The next few weeks and the next few meetings, Ukyo upped the ante bit by bit, finding excuses to stand a little closer to Chrome or brush a bit of hair out of his face or touch his shoulder. Chrome seemed receptive to it, sometimes even reciprocating, although he always seemed a little more nervous about it than Ukyo.

11 weeks into the semester and Ukyo was once again in Chrome's office, to the surprise of absolutely no one. It was to the point that Ryusui stopped asking Ukyo to do things on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, knowing better than to interrupt their "special bonding time" as Ryusui liked to call it. 

This time, Ukyo was the one seated in the desk chair with Chrome standing behind him, peering over his shoulder as Ukyo tried to contain his laughter long enough to draw a straight line. He had made the mistake of mentioning that he liked to draw in his free time and Chrome had of course instantly asked him to draw something, requesting Ukyo draw a 'cartoon version of the two of them going on an adventure together'. When pressed for more details, Chrome just smiled and shook his head, telling Ukyo he had to use his imagination and come up with something himself. 

Ukyo had decided on a quick sketch of the two of them walking through a forest, Ukyo armed with a bow and arrow and Chrome armed with a large rock. Chrome stood over his shoulder, watching him draw and adding narration to the little character's adventure. Ukyo was laughing so hard his side's hurt and he was struggling to draw from Chrome's nonsensical narrative while Chrome was having a hard time getting the words out through his laughter. Ukyo set the pencil down on the desk and turned his head with the intention of telling Chrome to stop or else he would never finish. 

Except somewhere in the laughter, Chrome had leaned in close over Ukyo without him realizing it, mimicking Ukyo's position from a few weeks ago. When he turned his head, Ukyo's face was just inches from Chrome's. Their eyes met and Ukyo's laughter quickly trailed off as his eyes dropped down to Chrome's slightly parted lips. He lingered there for a moment, vaguely aware of the fact that his body was swaying in closer to Chrome, as if pulled by some unknown force. 

The silence between them grew tense. Both of them leaned in close enough that Ukyo could feel Chrome's breath ghosting over his lips. He would barely have to move a half inch to fully close the distance and press their lips together. 

"Chrome," Ukyo whispered, his lips almost brushing against Chrome's as he spoke, "please let me kiss you." Chrome nodded in response, blatantly staring at Ukyo's lips.

"Yes. Please," he whispered somewhat distractedly. Ukyo turned the chair so he was facing Chrome more fully and reached out to gently cup Chrome's cheek. He wasn't sure which of them leaned in the last fraction of an inch, closing the already almost non-existent space between them, but within a second his lips were on Chrome's and it was so much better than anything he could have imagined. 

It started as just a simple, nervous press of lips. But after a few seconds, Ukyo felt Chrome's tongue hesitantly brush across the seam of his lips, eliciting a sigh from from the blond who gladly parted his lips to allow the other entrance. Chrome made a small, excited sound and placed one knee on the chair on the outside of Ukyo's legs for better leverage. Ukyo quickly reached out with his free hand to grab at Chrome's other thigh, encouraging him to climb onto the chair completely and deepen the kiss further. 

Ukyo made a happy sound as he grabbed Chrome's hip with one hand and his other snuck under the back of his dark blue hoodie, lightly scraping his nails up the other's back as he attempted to pull him closer. Chrome let out a small moan before suddenly freezing. They stayed frozen in the moment for a second, Ukyo desperately trying to figure out if he had done something wrong, before Chrome abruptly threw himself backwards, up off of Ukyo's lap, and stepped back to put a few feet of space between them. He stared at Ukyo with large, alarmed eyes. 

"Wait wait wait wai wa wai wai wait! Wait!" He stammered rapidly, eyes never leaving Ukyo. "We can’t… do that." Ukyo frowned and folded his arms across his chest petulantly. 

"Why not?"

"I'm your teacher! I don't think that's an okay thing!" 

"You're a grad student, not a full on professor. Aren't the rules different for you?"

"Yeah. I mean no! I mean…. Well I don't actually know. But it definitely seems like something I'm not allowed to do." 

Ukyo groaned a little and scrubbed his face with his hand. He just wanted Chrome to come back over, to feel the weight of him in his lap, to feel his lips against his a little longer. But he had to admit that Chrome had a point. As much as he wanted this and as much joy as he was filled with at the knowledge that Chrome also wanted this, if his flushed cheeks and heavy breathing was anything to go by, he had known their relationship as teacher and student had a chance of preventing them from turning it into something more. 

"Fine," Ukyo conceded after a long moment of silence. "You have a point. But please," he stood from the desk chair and walked toward Chrome, who seemed hesitant but didn't back away. Ukyo kept some space between them but grabbed both of Chrome's hands in his, squeezing his hands gently. "Please say you'll go on a date with me once the semesters over." Chrome squeezed back gently and smiled brightly.

"Nothing would bring me more joy," he said quietly. Ukyo stared at Chrome, his gaze dropped to Chrome's lips, wishing desperately that he could just lean in and continue kissing him. Instead, he gave Chrome's hands a final gentle squeeze before releasing them and turning to grab his backpack.

"Alright I'm going to to before I do something I'm not allowed to." He heard Chrome laugh behind him as he slowly made his way to the office door, tossing a small wave over his shoulder as he went.

"Wait, Ukyo," Chrome called after him. Ukyo turned around quickly, expecting Chrome to still be on the other side of the room. He startled when Chrome was standing right behind him, invading his personal space. He opened his mouth to ask what was going on but was cut off by Chrome threading his fingers into Ukyo's blond hair and pulling him down for a short but searing kiss. It was over before Ukyo had time to mentally catch up and reciprocate properly and left him in a date.

"Wha- why- what?" He stuttered out, trying to think of ways to get Chrome to do that again. Instead, Chrome stepped back out of Ukyo's space and gave him a small smile.

"After finals. Coffee. You and me." 

Ukyo couldn't do anything other than nod dumbly in response. 

"Yeah. Yeah, sounds good." He laughed a little at the absurdity of the situation and shook his head, turning to leave for the second time. 

"Good night, Chrome. See you next time."

"Good night, Ukyo. Sweet dreams," his teacher called out after him. Ukyo snorted to himself as the office door fell shut behind him. 

_I'm sure they will be._

-X-X-X-X-X-

"Ukyo, I'll give you some food if you sit up and stop being dramatic."

"And stop being a little bitch," Ryusui added to Francois' statement. Ukyo groaned into the couch cushion and turned his head to the side just enough to speak. 

"Calling me a little bitch isn't going to help," he grumbled as he pushed himself up to a seated position. He gave Fancois a pleading look and thankfully they took that as their cue to make good on their promise of food. The moment they left the room, Ukyo fell back onto his side on the couch. He could feel Ryusui's eyes on him and cracked his eyes open just enough to glance at his friend who was sitting on the floor watching Ukyo in confusion. "Can I help you, sir?" Ukyo muttered as he closed his eyes again. 

"I don't get why you're like this. Don't you have plans to go on a date with the guy you've been pining over all semester? Isn't this the part where you do a victory dance and sing my praises for giving you such helpful ideas? Or are you already regretting your decision?"

"I'm not regretting it. I'm really excited. Like really really excited, I swear. It's just…. We kissed and now…" he trailed off and rolled onto his back to stare up at the ceiling. 

"And now what? Was it bad or something?" 

"NO!" Ukyo almost shouted in reply. "No, no, no. It was so good. So incredibly good." Ukyo could feel a giddy smile pulling at his lips as he thought back to that night. However, his smile quickly slipped off his face and he groaned in frustration. "It's just that now I want to do it again. A lot. But I can't because I agreed to wait until the end of the stupid semester." 

"It's only 3 weeks away now, though. It can't be that bad." 

"I mean no, realistically 3 weeks isn't that bad. The thing is that Chrome seems to have taken it upon himself to make them the hardest weeks of my life."

"What could Mr. 'This is probably fine but I don't want to get in trouble' possibly be doing to make things hard for you? Or are you going to go on another rant about how he is just 'too awkwardly cute to handle'?" 

"The other day he was writing on the board and I swear to god he intentionally dropped the marker and bent down in the most obscene way possible to pick it up." 

"Did you ever think he didn't do that to tease you but rather because he actually needed to pick up the marker?" Francois asked as they entered the room with a bowl of pasta. "Also, what happened to sitting up?" Ukyo pulled himself into a seated position and greedily grabbed the bowl from his friend. Ryusui stared at the bowl in confusion. 

"Francois, where the hell did you get the stuff for that? I'm pretty sure all I have in that kitchen is some cereal and a possibly expired bag of frozen vegetables.”

"Don’t underestimate me," Francois replied cryptically. Ryusui just shrugged and turned his attention back to Ukyo. 

"They have a point though. Maybe he's just awkward and chose the worst possible way to pick up the marker."

"I think you mean best possible way," Ukyo whispered under his breath. "But no it was definitely intentional. He basically winked at me when he stood back up." 

"Does he think he's being subtle?" Francois asked.

"I don't think he cares," Ukyo said through a mouthful of pasta. "Also, last class, I made the mistake of actually asking him a question on the stuff we were working on and he took it upon himself to tell me the answer by basically draping himself over my back and whispering the answer in my ear." He set the bowl on the coffee table and ground the heel of his palms into his eyes. "I never knew sedimentary could sound so sexual." Almost before he could finish his sentence, a pillow careened into the side of his head. 

"My sixth sense is tingling!" Ryusui almost shouted.

"I'm not being horny!" Ukyo shouted back. Both Ryusui and Francois paused and raised their eyebrows at him in disbelief. Ukyo huffed and crossed his arms. "Just a little frustrated. And ready for the semester to be done."

-X-X-X-X-X-

3 weeks and 6 classes of almost unbearable teasing later, whether intentional or not, Ukyo was finally sitting in Chrome’s class for the last time. After he finished the final sitting on the desk in front of him, Chrome would officially no longer be his teacher. And by 2:15 pm at the latest, Chrome would be completely free for the rest of the day to get coffee with Ukyo just like they had decided weeks before.

Ukyo smiled giddily down at the paper in front of him. If anyone looked over at him in that moment, he probably looked like a crazy person. No one had any reason to look quite that excited about geological time periods. 

_Chrome probably would though_ , Ukyo thought fondly, chancing a quick look up at their teacher only to find Chrome already looking at him. They shared a quick smile before Ukyo refocused on his test. It made him even happier to know that Chrome was also looking forward to their date. 

Ukyo shook his head a little and focused on the task at hand. The sooner he was done with the final, the sooner he would be sitting across a small cafe table from Chrome. 

Technically, it depended on how soon everyone in their class finished, but unfortunately he had no power over the speed at which everyone else finished. 

He managed to keep it together long enough to finish up with about 30 minutes to spare. Once he was done, he quietly went to hand it in, setting it on the desk in front of Chrome. 

Chrome looked up at him with a bright smile, giving Ukyo a quick wink as he took the papers from him. Ukyo coughed as he tried to cover up the small laugh that threatened to escape. He shook his head at Chrome's antics but couldn't stop his smile from growing. He turned to leave with an almost imperceptible wave to Chrome, knowing that standing dumbly in front of his desk while the rest of the class finished their exam wasn't going to help anyone. 

Once outside the room, Ukyo took a minute to silently revel in the fact that this marked his last final and he was officially done with the semester. He slouched down against the wall to sit on the floor across the hall from the classroom door, pulling his headphones and a book out of his bag to pass the time. Every time the door opened, his head snapped up, silently hoping that it would be Chrome. 

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, but was realistically probably less than an hour, the door opened and Chrome walked out. Ukyo slipped his headphones off and before he could get a single word out, Chrome crossed the hallway and grabbed his hand to help him stand up. As soon as he was upright, he found himself being pulled behind Chrome by their still joined hands as his (now former) teacher speed walked through the building. Ukyo finally found his voice when he realized they were going a familiar direction. 

"Wait are we going to your office?"

"Sorry I need to drop this off real quick first," Chrome mumbled as he rushed through the hall. When they reached the office, Chrome wrenched the door open, earning a startled yelp from the unfamiliar blonde inside.

"Kohaku! Put these on my desk for me!" Chrome all but shouted as he threw the large pile of papers he had been carrying across the office at her. She somehow managed to catch them, despite her confused glare. 

"What the hell, why can't you-" she trailed off as her eyes slid past Chrome and finally noticed Ukyo behind him. Her face immediately lit up in recognition. 

"Is that him?" She asked non too subtly. Chrome turned to look back at Ukyo enough that Ukyo could see the blush that was spreading across his cheeks. Chrome looked back at the girl and nodded slightly, tightening his grip on Ukyo's hand that he was still holding. She let out a loud woop and gave Chrome a thumbs up.

"Nice! Get some, Chrome!" A loud laugh escaped Ukyo before he could stop it and he didn't need to see Chrome's face to know that his blush had gone from a light pink to deep red. 

"Yeah, cool, I hate you, bye!" Chrome shouted in a rush as he slammed the office door. He took a deep breath before turning to face Ukyo fully. He released Ukyo's hand only to make up for it by wrapping his arms around Ukyo's neck. Ukyo instinctively placed his hands on Chrome's hips, pulling him a step closer. 

"Hi," Chrome said with a small laugh, staring up at Ukyo through his lashes. "My name's Kosuke, but everyone calls me Chrome." 

"It's nice to meet you, Chrome. I'm Ukyo," the blond replied, more than happy to play along with whatever Chrome was getting at.

"Well Ukyo, I couldn't help but notice that you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen in my life and I can't stop thinking about them. About you." Ukyo blushed at the honest compliment, the first he had received from the other man. "And I was wondering if you'd be willing to join me for coffee." Ukyo laughed and pressed his forehead to Chrome's. 

"It would be my pleasure," he whispered. Chrome grinned excitedly and stretched up to seal their lips together in a slow, leisurely kiss, the complete opposite to the first one they had shared. When they finally broke apart, Chrome stayed close enough that Ukyo could feel his warm breath on his own lips as he spoke. 

"Any chance you're free right now?" Ukyo pretended to contemplate his response for a second, all while messaging gentle circles at Chrome's hip with his thumbs. Eventually, he shrugged and pressed his lips to Chrome's in a quick kiss. 

"I guess I can make some time."

Chrome smiled and stole one last kiss before releasing Ukyo and taking a step back. He grabbed the blond's hand and started walking, tugging Ukyo along with him. 

"Our first date. How exciting," Chrome rambled as they walked. 

"Does it really count as a first date if we've kind of been dating for 10 weeks now?" Chrome hummed pensively and squeezed Ukyo's hand.

"I guess maybe you have a point. It sounds more romantic if it's a first date. But then again, if it's not a first date, I guess there's no moral code saying it shouldn't end in sex." Ukyo's brain short circuited for a second before coming back online. Chrome was watching him out of the corner of his eye with a light blush and a small smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. Ukyo squeezed Chrome's hand and moved to walk a little closer to Chrome's side, their arms brushing together as they walked. 

"Not a first date. Officially not a first date."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for coming to my ted talk about rocks.  
> Uh... I have some vague ideas for a second part that's still ukrome centric but brings in everyone's faves (sengen) and includes just some good old fashioned 5 generals antics.  
> If.... for some ungodly reason people actually would want to read more of this.  
> Anyway, Thank you so much for reading!!


End file.
